Balanchine the Teacher
Title | Balanchine the Teacher PDF eBook |
Author | Barbara Walczak |
Publisher | |
Pages | 324 |
Release | 2008 |
Genre | Performing Arts |
ISBN |
This work is a technical explanation of the stylistic approach that George Balanchine taught in New York City between 1940 and 1960, as recorded by two prominent dancers who studied with him at the time.
Balanchine's Apprentice
Title | Balanchine's Apprentice PDF eBook |
Author | John Clifford |
Publisher | University Press of Florida |
Pages | 289 |
Release | 2021-09-14 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 0813072018 |
A talented young dancer and his brilliant teacher In this long-awaited memoir, dancer and choreographer John Clifford offers a highly personal look inside the day-to-day operations of the New York City Ballet and its creative mastermind, George Balanchine. Balanchine’s Apprentice is the story of Clifford—an exceptionally talented artist—and the guiding inspiration for his life’s work in dance. Growing up in Hollywood with parents in show business, Clifford acted in television productions such as The Danny Kaye Show, The Dinah Shore Show, and Death Valley Days. He recalls the beginning of his obsession with ballet: At age 11 he was cast as the Prince in a touring production of The Nutcracker. The director was none other than the legendary Balanchine, who would eventually invite Clifford to New York City and shape his career as both a mentor and artistic example. During his dazzling tenure with the New York City Ballet, Clifford danced the lead in 47 works, several created for him by Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and others. He partnered famous ballerinas including Gelsey Kirkland and Allegra Kent. He choreographed eight ballets for the company, his first at age 20. He performed in Russia, Germany, France, and Canada. Afterward, he returned to the West Coast to found the Los Angeles Ballet, where he continued to innovate based on the Balanchine technique. In this book, Clifford provides firsthand insight into Balanchine’s relationships with his dancers, including Suzanne Farrell. Examining his own attachment to his charismatic teacher, Clifford explores questions of creative influence and integrity. His memoir is a portrait of a young dancer who learned and worked at lightning speed, who pursued the calls of art and genius on both coasts of America and around the world.
Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique
Title | Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique PDF eBook |
Author | Suki Schorer |
Publisher | |
Pages | 426 |
Release | 2006 |
Genre | Performing Arts |
ISBN | 9780813029771 |
When still a young dancer in the New York City Ballet, Suki Schorer was chosen by George Balanchine to lecture, demonstrate, and teach--he recognized in her that rare dancer who not only performs superbly but can also successfully pass along what she knows to others. In Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique, she commits to paper the fruit of her twenty-four-year collaboration with Balanchine in a close examination of his technique for teachers, scholars, and advanced students of the ballet. Schorer discusses the crucial work at the barre as well as center work, port de bras, pointework, jumps, partnering, and more. Her recollections of her own tutelage under Balanchine and her brilliant use of scores of his remarks about dancing and dancers lend both authority and intimacy to this extraordinary analysis of Balanchine's legacy to the future of dance. Abundantly illustrated throughout with instructional photographs featuring members of the New York City Ballet, this book will serve as an indispensable testament to Balanchine's ideas on technique and performance.
Balanchine Teaching
Title | Balanchine Teaching PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | Eakins Press Foundation/Ballet Society |
Pages | 36 |
Release | 2017 |
Genre | Ballet dancers |
ISBN | 9780871301000 |
In 1961, Nancy Lassalle, long-time ballet patron and associate of Lincoln Kirstein, co-founder of the New York City Ballet, was given permission to photograph a two-day teacher seminar led by George Balanchine at the School of American Ballet in New York City. The nonprofit workshop was intended to elevate the level of ballet education across the United States by inviting teachers from around the country to learn directly from the master of dance. Published for the first time in this slender but exquisitely designed and printed softcover catalog are 14 of Lassalles duotone photographs capturing Balanchine demonstrating various ballet positions, his command of the art and his desire to share that knowledge. The intimate images offer a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of a pivotal moment in the history of American dance. Comments under each image along with a detailed essay by Suki Schorer reveal her deep knowledge of Balanchines teaching and working years.
Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique
Title | Suki Schorer on Balanchine Technique PDF eBook |
Author | Suki Schorer |
Publisher | Knopf |
Pages | 456 |
Release | 1999 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN |
A highly detailed book on Balanchine technique, written by one of his former principal dancers, now a leading teacher at the School of American Ballet. When still a young dancer in the New York City Ballet, Suki Schorer was chosen by Balanchine to lecture, demonstrate, and teach--he recognized in her that rare dancer who not only performs superbly but can also successfully pass along what she knows to others. Now, she commits to paper the fruit of her twenty-four-year collaboration with Balanchine in a close examination of his technique for teachers, scholars, and advanced students of the ballet. Schorer discusses the crucial work at the barre as well as center work, port de bras, pointework, jumps, partnering, and more. Her recollections of her own tutelage under Balanchine and her brilliant use of scores of his remarks about dancing and dancers lend both authority and intimacy to this extraordinary analysis of Balanchine's legacy to the future of dance. Profusely illustrated throughout with instructional photographs featuring members of the New York City Ballet, this book will serve as an indispensable testament to Balanchine's ideas on technique and performance. From the Preface At Balanchine's instigation I began to teach in the early 1960s while still a member of the corps de ballet . . . One day, as I was adjusting a tendu front in a class of nine-year-olds, Balanchine walked into the studio with Lincoln Kirstein, the school's longtime president. As they left, I heard Mr. B say to Lincoln, "I knew she would get down on the floor and fix feet . . ." I believed in Balanchine. Seeing and then dancing in his ballets made me believe in his aesthetic. Sharing the life of his company and school made me believe in his approach to work and to life in general. In my teaching, in my lectures, in my writing, and in videos on the technique, I have tried to convey not only his aesthetic, but also his beliefs about how to work, how to deal with each other, and how to live . . . My purpose in writing this book is to record what I learned from him about ballet dancing and teaching ballet, insofar as that is possible on paper . . . By helping others deepen their understanding of Balanchine's art, I hope to contribute in a small way to the preservation of his unique and extraordinary legacy.
Balanchine Variations
Title | Balanchine Variations PDF eBook |
Author | Nancy Goldner |
Publisher | |
Pages | 156 |
Release | 2008 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN |
The literature on Balanchine is vast, but it is primarily biographical. Balanchine Variations is the first book to concentrate on the ballets themselves, providing critical analysis and detailed descriptions of what the dancers actually do. Beginning with Apollo (1928), Balanchine's first extant work, and ending with one of his last ballets, Ballo della Regina (1978), Nancy Goldner offers detailed insights into more than twenty individual ballets. Based on lectures given across the United States, under the auspices of the Balanchine Foundation, they are intended to illuminate his art. Goldner discusses the history of each ballet, places each in the context of Balanchine's life and sensibility. She also addresses his taste in music and whether his style can be considered particularly American. The ballets Balanchine choreographed for the New York City Ballet are danced by companies around the world, and this innovative book is sure to become an indispensable guide to dancers and spectators alike.
Being a Ballerina
Title | Being a Ballerina PDF eBook |
Author | Gavin Larsen |
Publisher | University Press of Florida |
Pages | 268 |
Release | 2021-04-27 |
Genre | Performing Arts |
ISBN | 081306595X |
Finalist, the Arts Club of Washington Marfield Prize A look inside a dancer’s world Inspiring, revealing, and deeply relatable, Being a Ballerina is a firsthand look at the realities of life as a professional ballet dancer. Through episodes from her own career, Gavin Larsen describes the forces that drive a person to study dance; the daily balance that dancers navigate between hardship and joy; and the dancer’s continual quest to discover who they are as a person and as an artist. Starting with her arrival as a young beginner at a class too advanced for her, Larsen tells how the embarrassing mistake ended up helping her learn quickly and advance rapidly. In other stories of her early teachers, training, and auditions, she explains how she gradually came to understand and achieve what she and her body were capable of. Larsen then re-creates scenes from her experiences in dance companies, from unglamorous roles to exhilarating performances. Working as a ballerina was shocking and scary at first, she says, recalling unexpected injuries, leaps of faith, and her constant struggle to operate at the level she wanted—but full of enormously rewarding moments. Larsen also reflects candidly on her difficult decision to retire at age 35. An ideal read for aspiring dancers, Larsen’s memoir will also delight experienced dance professionals and fascinate anyone who wonders what it takes to live a life dedicated to the perfection of the art form.